Shell Oyster Bar

I don’t know why people recommend this place, oysters are pre shucked and refrigerated and dry, everything fried and grease and the worst crab cakes I have ever had. Stay away.

Don’t leave because the outside and area are scary. It was the best my hole Florida trip

We have eaten at Shell for years. The food is always delicious, & the service has been very satisfactory. The last time that we ate there was shocking, because at 12:00 on a Saturday there was no fish to be ordered for the lunch basket. Today was another experience that has made us decide never to go back. The moment we walked inside, the waitress asked us to sit on bar stools across from the bathrooms, because she didn’t want to seat us because the party of 2 we were to meet there had not arrived. She wanted us to sit on the bar stools until 1 of our party arrived even though 2 people were going to arrive together. She said that there are so many people who come there & say that they are waiting for people to arrive & they never show up, & they are always very busy. At that moment I was ready to leave, but she seated us at a back wall table. We ordered oysters which arrived with packets of crackers right on top of the oysters. Very unsanitary! Then the waitress had us move to a different table to accommodate a larger group of customers. I say, first come, first serve. Our party of 2 arrived, & it turned out that the larger group and our group were the only ones left at the restaurant after about 30 minutes. Very unprofessional. They definitely gave the impression that the only goal was to serve us & get us out as soon as possible.

Okay, I am basing my 5-​star review on the fact that this place just feels comfortable and the food is comfort food. Shell Oyster Bar is my favorite place to go for lunch with coworkers. It’s small. It’s jam-​packed at lunch. It’s cash only. It’s perfect. Seriously, the food makes me happy. And cozy. And sleepy. Everyone I go with orders the shrimp and the reviews are always positive. I get the fish with cheese grits and French fries. Every — single — time. The waitresses are always friendly and attentive — even though they are rushed off their feet. Shell’s is just a solid, down-​home seafood place.

If you are looking for local oysters at a great price, or fresh seafood that is fried to perfection, head on over to Shell. Located in an alley off of FAMU Way, parking can be a challenge. But once you park and head on in, you’ll be transported to a stereotypical fish shack. There’s a counter at the back, with seating, where the staff shuck mounds of fresh, local oysters. The rest of the room is filled with plastic tablecloth covered tables, each with the requisite condiment trio: hot sauce, cocktail sauce, and tarter sauce. The menu is straightforward: oysters raw or nuked, a variety of fish served fried, avid traditional sides (fries, hush «pups», coleslaw, macaroni salad, etc).
We arrived for dinner on a Friday night (they’re open until 6:30 Friday nights; earlier on other nights) and were the only people there (aside from what appeared to be family friends hanging out at the sitter bar). We quickly decided on a dozen raw oysters (local, at $ 9/​dozen), 2 fish sandwiches, one dinner combo platter, and an order of «pups» for the table.
The oysters came quickly and were outstanding: briny, sweet, and large. The bowl of pups, on the other hand, were a tremendous disappointment. They were ice cold. When I told the waitress she took them away and brought the same bowl back, this time containing soggy, mushy hush puppies (the same ones I sent back) that had been nuked. When I complained I was told that their kitchen was small, and the lunch crowds large, so they precook all of the hush puppies in the morning so that they can use their fryer for the fish and French fries. That means we were served hush puppies that were likely cooked 8 or more hours earlier and that sat in a tray all day. If I were you. I’d avoid them (I’d also avoid the salads, as you can see them all pre-​plated, uncovered, in the cooler).
But you’re here for the fish, and they do an exceptional job with the fish. The sandwiched contained three large pieces of perfectly fried fish on a fresh bun with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. The fries on the side were hot and tasty. The combo platter contained a huge portion of fried fish: shrimp, scallops, crab claws, fish, etc. A great choice if you’re hungry.
A few notes: the place is cash only, so stop by the ATM first. And while they don’t serve beer, you can bring your own.
If the pups had been made fresh, this would be a 5 star review. But everything else was so good, we will soon return.

Weird place! Oddly shaped building in old industrial looking area with NO windows! Raw oysters were great! Super cold and tasted great! Fried fish, shrimp and bay scallops were perfect… not a fan of fried crab claws though and that’s the only way they serve them. Just great old school fried seafood, raw oysters and all the great Southern sides. I thought the coleslaw was really good and their house made cocktail sauce was unique and tasty– thinner consistency than I am accustomed to though. I kinda had to beg for the right amount of lemons for all the food but I can’t wait to go back the next time I have an oyster or fried shrimp craving. Super affordable! They don’t serve beer and only accept cash. Ignore the TV playing Fox News ;)

This place was a let down. Not to mention they are only open till 5pm on week days, so I had been waiting for months to try this spot. The fried oysters and shrimp were average. You have to bring your own beer. The cheese grits have a thick layer of butter on top of them. They only have bottled water (no tap). However, their sweet tea and service was good.

Small family run business. Great fried seafood served by good folks. Seems to be popular with the locals. Not really a 5 star restaurant but they are great at what they do

Great oysters and sea food at reasonable Cash only prices. Service was great while atmosphere very casual but clean and comfortable. In a somewhat suspicious neighborhood but safe!

We love this place! Best fried shrimp in Tallahassee! The service is always great. Nice friendly faces! Thanks!

Good thing we had cash or we would have had to go to ATM — they don’t accept debit or credit cards. Ordered our oysters steamed (for which they used a microwave). Oysters were pre-​shucked and sitting on styrofoam plates before we came in. Saltines were stale, and if you request horse radish they will go to their fridge and pull out a slop bucket full for you to scoop some out with a spoon, before passing to the next customer. The onion rings were good though. Oh, and the beer we brought with us was to… BYOB

A small, basic building with a lot of history behind it. Come early as parking is a challenge and bring cash, as they take no other forms of payment.
Details aside, the food is extremely reasonable and quantities are large for the price.
I have not tried everything, but I have had their raw oysters and many of their fried items (which is the majority of the menu). The fried items can’t be cooked any better. The seafood is cooked to perfection and the oil must be changed frequently as the breading is always light in color and clean tasting. Their cocktail sauce seems to be their own blend /​recipe (though not confirmed) and it is delicious.
This is a must-​try establishment is you ave never been before.

I found this place on Unilocal and we were surprised with the location of the restaurant and a little hesitated to go in. Since we were all hungry so we stayed and ordered food. My husband loves his grouper sandwich, my kids ordered crab claws and I ordered fried oyster with Cheese grits. We left with a smile on our face. Everyone enjoyed their food! There is no fancy décor in the restaurant and it opens till 5pm. We were glad we stayed. Cash only place! Nice people!

Southern small town atmosphere. Sweet tea was brewed just right. Hush puppies were on point, cole slaw was finely chopped, and the shrimp were perfectly to a golden crisp.

Simple and delicious. The raw oysters may be on the small side (as we then went to NOLA) but they were sweeter and smoother. They were $ 8.00/dz on Monday. My fried fish lunch was delicious and too much food. Oh maybe it was the dz oysters first. Very clean and a nice eclectic atmosphere with friendly service. The sweet tea was good, too.

Every time I got to Tallahassee I have to stop at the Shell Oyster Bar. The best place in town to get seafood, and its not expensive at all. Its a good family owned business and the people who run it are the sweetest.
My favorite part is how they shuck the oysters right in front of you. But if you go here make sure to try their own recipe of horseradish and other special sauces!

GREAT fresh oysters, shucked right in front of you by guys who know what they’re doing.
Friendly atmosphere, it’s a very clean somewhat small place.
Not much of an ‘oyster bar odor’.
We didn’t sample fried food on this first visit, but the plates we saw going by from our seats at the oyster bar looked great to two Florida natives.
We probably would have stayed longer, but they only accept cash, and we didn’t have much.
Its a bit pricier than Barnacle Bills, but the quality is probably worth it.
And it’s location near the gov’t offices is a plus.
Parking is more than a little tight, but if you look, you can find a spot.
It’ll be worth the effort.

I’m back to Tallahassee and here I’m back to Shell again! My raw oysters weren’t that good this time, only 2 out of 12 oyster were good. The homemade horseradish hot sauce, the pungent with the spicy heat of papers, on the table enhanced the flavors of good and not so good oysters (or should I say disguised the bad flavors).
My lunch special, fried oysters and shrimps, were good as how I remembered. What shined was the sweet and soft meat shrimps with a crunch outside. They were delicious.
Yellow grits with cheese were creamy and dreamy and American mustard flavored potato salad that I opted for my lunch special sides were always my favorite.

I love this place! It smells like dead fish when you walk in (probably oyster shells). I upgraded the star rating because — they are legend in TLH. Friendly people. Dependable good food served in plastic baskets! A bit of old tallahassee on the half shell.

It reminds me of house by the docks, but this little place has some of the freshest seafood in the Tallahassee area. The 3 of us shared a dozen of raw oysters, an enormous basket of seafood & chips, and a grouper sandwich.
I really wanted to LOVE the oysters after all the raving reviews, but I’m assuming it just happened to be a bad batch. They looked absolutely mouth watering, but one slurp — chew — swallow left a really bitter taste on my palate. Truly disappointed, but the rest of our meal made up for that sour start.
When the fish, crab claws, clams, and oysters were battered & fried over a bed of fries & hush puppies, that was a whole different story. It just brings out the freshness and sweetness of the seafood like it was just pulled up from the dock. That cup of iced sweet tea helped wash down all that fried goodness. Left fairly satisfied and full without hurting our wallets.